


Rescue, The

by sffan



Series: Another 'Verse [1]
Category: Firefly
Genre: Aftermath of Violence, Alternate Universe, Implied Jayne Cobb/Simon Tam, Implied/Referenced Sexual Assault, M/M, Minor Simon Tam/Other(s), Other, Slash
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-02
Updated: 2018-07-02
Packaged: 2019-04-29 12:07:41
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,340
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14472417
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sffan/pseuds/sffan
Summary: This is a response to an AU challenge that asked - what if Simon and River hadn't boarded Serenity and ended up with "Evil Bastard Captain" at first and then later encountered Mal.





	Rescue, The

**Author's Note:**

> Dedicated to that truly EVIL wench Juli, who got the bunnies hopping.
> 
> I knew Open Doors was going to be uploading my fic. I had no idea they actually had....
> 
> Original publication date: January 29, 2003
> 
> Note from alice ttlg, the archivist: this story was originally archived at [Firefly’s Glow](https://fanlore.org/wiki/Firefly%27s_Glow), and was moved to the AO3 as part of the Open Doors project in 2018. I tried to reach out to all creators about the move and posted announcements, but may not have reached everyone. If you are the creator and would like to claim this work, please contact me using the e-mail address on [Firefly's Glow collection profile](https://archiveofourown.org/collections/fireflysglow/profile).
> 
> My disclaimer: This fic is from a previous archive, written between 2002 and 2008. No additional changes or edits have been made since it’s original posting date and none will be. A further note, Firefly was my first fandom, there are bound to be rookie mistakes. To preserve my own development as a writer, I am not editing or correcting them. You may find yourself making this face O_o occasionally.

Luh-suh = crappy 

Ta mah duh hwun-dan = mother humping son of a bitch 

Simon's not sure how much more of this he can take. Eight months he's been a virtual prisoner on this luh-suh ship, expected to give his body to whoever wanted it, and forced to keep River heavily sedated and locked in his room. Telling Captain Jenkins that he was a doctor had been a fatal error - the bastard was never going to let him and River leave now. 

Simon gives the scan of his anus and rectum one last look, reassuring himself that he has regenerated all of the damaged tissues caused by Thompson's attentions the night before. The brutal bastard never uses lube and delights in making Simon scream. He dresses carefully, hissing with pain as he steps into his pants. Although the majority of the damage has been healed, it still hurts considerably. Simon is grateful that he's going to be with Jayne tonight. Who would have believed that the biggest, scariest-looking man on this ship was the least brutal? When Simon is in pain like this, Jayne is willing to settle for a blow-job and will insist that he stay the night so that he can get some sleep. It's times like these that Simon almost feels affection for the big man. The absurdity of the situation would be funny if it weren't so pathetic - he's looking forward to sucking the mercenary off because it means that he'll be held and petted and kept safe for at least one night. 

He's moved over to a mirror hanging on the wall of the infirmary, about to press the dermal regenerator to the bruise on his cheek when Captain Jenkins' gruff voice comes over the comm. 

"Simon. Come down to the cargo bay, there's someone here I'd like you to meet." 

"Yes, sir," Simon says, a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach. So much for spending the night in Jayne's room. 

Jenkins' tone of voice leaves no room for waiting. Simon puts down the regenerator and rushes down to the cargo bay. 

Simon enters the large echoing room and makes his way towards Jenkins. The man that he's been called down to meet is tall and handsome, with brown hair and blue eyes. He's dressed in various shades of brown, covered by a long dark coat that accentuates the breadth of his shoulders. He stands tall, observing everything around him, alert to any danger, hands on his gun belt. 

"As I was saying, Captain Reynolds, I don't have all the cash that you wanted, but I can offer a bit of a trade," Jenkins says smoothly. "Simon, come here. I'd like you to meet Captain Reynolds." He grabs Simon tightly by the arm and drags him forward. "He's yours for the night. Do whatever you want to him. He's a doctor, so he can fix any damage you do." 

Malcolm Reynolds looks at the man offered to him. He's pale-skinned with thick, dark hair. He's oddly beautiful for a man, even with the purpling bruise covering his cheek. What pierces Mal is the look of quiet desperation in the young man's eyes. He doesn't look like he's doing this willingly. Mal's sense of honour stirs - he has the sudden urge to shoot Jenkins in the head, but he knows that would be a tremendously stupid move considering the five heavily armed men that are in the cargo bay with them. 

"I'm not in the habit of taking this kind of trade in exchange for my services," Mal says. "But I'll make an exception in this case." He moves closer to Simon and puts his hand on the smaller man's back. He can't believe he's doing this, but he can't seem to shut the part of his brain up that is screaming 'save him'. Mal needs to talk to the boy and assess the situation before he takes any action. 

"Nice doing business with you, Captain. Get your crew to start moving the cargo and I'll get the rest of your payment together." 

Mal places a quick call to his crew, giving them instructions. Simon heaves a quiet sigh, resigned to the inevitability of what's going to happen, and starts across the cargo bay, heading for the spare passenger room beside his. 

"Oh, and Simon?" Jenkins says in a deceptively gentle voice. "We're going to talk tomorrow about making ourselves presentable for guests." Simon flinches at the words. He and Jenkins have had one of these little "talks" before - Simon had ended up in the infirmary for days. Mal notices the flinch and runs his hand gently down Simon's back, trying to soothe him. Simon initially stiffens at the touch, and then makes himself relax, his shoulders slumping in defeat. 

As soon as they reach the room and shut the door, Simon melts into Mal's body and starts to kiss him. Without thinking, Mal returns the kiss, then his brain kicks in and he pulls back. 

"Wait. Stop," Mal says gently as Simon tries to kiss him again. "You don't have to do this." 

Simon looks at him with desperation and fear burning in his eyes. "Yes, I do," he says hoarsely. "If I don't show you a good time, he'll...he'll...." 

"He'll what, Simon? Tell me. Maybe I can help." Mal asks, genuine compassion on his face. It's too much for Simon, it's been so long since anyone but Jayne has treated him with any kindness at all, that he starts to cry. 

"He'll hurt her," Simon whispers between his tears. 

"Hurt who?" 

"River, my sister. I have to do what they want or they'll go after her." His shoulders begin to shake as his body is wracked with sobs. Mal holds Simon gently, as he cries, making soothing sounds and rubbing small circles on his back. Eventually, Simon stops and rubs his face roughly with a hand. He opens his mouth and suddenly, he's telling Reynold's everything - how he and his sister are fugitives from the Alliance and why, how he ended up on Jenkins' ship, and how he wound up whoring himself to keep them safe. 

"Can you help us?" Simon asks. "Can you get us off this ship?" He knows he's being foolish and ridiculous, expecting a stranger to help him and River, but he's at the end of his strength - he just can't stay here any more, doing what he's doing to survive. 

"Not without help," Mal says. He can't believe what he more or less just offered - Zoe was going to kick his ass for going all 'knight in shining armour'. "I can't do much alone against six men and I think Jenkins would notice if my crew came back on board." 

"I know someone who might be willing to help," Simon says. "But you have to promise to take him too - Jenkins will kill him when he finds out he helped us escape." 

"You OK with bringing one of these men with you?" Mal says incredulously. He way he says "men" implies "animals". 

"Jayne's all right. He's the only one of these motherfuckers who's never hurt me." Simon says with a look of grim determination on his face. "We're going to have to wait until most of the crew goes to bed. River's pretty heavily sedated and I'm going to have to carry her. You and Jayne are going to have to take care of any trouble that might come our way." 

"Whoa, Simon. Aren't you putting the cart before the horse here a bit? We need to know if Jayne's willing to go along with this before we plan anything." 

Simon knows he's jumping the gun and he knows that his dream of rescue could go up in a cloud of smoke, but he needs to hang on to the hope that has sprung up inside him or he's going to start screaming. "You're right. I'm going to go find Jayne," Simon says as he slips out the door. 

He makes his way quickly down the corridor towards Jayne's quarters. 

"Hey! Where ya think yer goin'? Ain't ya supposed to be _entertainin'_ the smuggler?" Marshall asks, coming down the corridor towards him. Thinking quickly, Simon comes up with an excuse for being in the hallway. 

"Captain Reynolds is hungry. I'm going to the galley to grab some food." 

"Hhhmp," Marshall responds and then continues past Simon towards his own bunk. 

Heaving a sigh of relief, Simon checks around and then takes the passageway that leads to his destination. Finding Jayne's door unlocked, he lets himself in. 

"Simon? What the ruttin' hell are ya doin' here? Jenkins'll kill you if he finds out you left Reynolds alone," Jayne says, honestly worried for the smaller man's safety. Jenkins had a mighty temper on him and Jayne had seen the mess he'd left Simon in the last time he had felt the need to express it on the doctor. 

"Jayne, will you help me? Us?" Simon says, without any preliminaries. He looks into Jayne's eyes, hoping to find the sympathy he knows is there. 

"Help ya what?" 

"Escape. Get off this ship." 

"What the hell?" Jayne asks, confused. "How are you fixin' ta escape?" 

"Captain Reynolds is willing to take us - you, me, River - but he needs help." 

"Yer takin' a mighty risk comin' ta me with this," Jayne says, slowly. "How do ya know I ain't gonna go to Jenkins with it?" 

"Because I think you hate that ta mah duh hwun-dan almost as much as I do," Simon says harshly. 

"Got that right," Jayne says fiercely. "Been wantin' to get me a new job for quite a spell now, but I didn't want ta leave ya here - with them." He shrugs at Simon's incredulous look. "What do I gotta do?" 

"Wait here until midnight, then meet us at my room. Any idea who's on guard tonight?" 

"Thompson." 

Simon's stomach sinks. Thompson is vigilant in his duty - unlike half the rest of the crew, he will not be sleeping or drunk. 

"Fuck." 

"Don't you worry none 'bout him, Simon. I can take him," Jayne says reassuringly and dark grin on his face. "You better get back to Reynolds now." 

Simon turns to leave and then turns back and places a hand on Jayne's arm. "Thanks, this means a lot to me," he says quietly. Jayne places his hand over Simon's and runs his thumb across the doctor's knuckles. "Don't you think on it. Let's just get you an' that moon-brained sister o' yours safe." Simon smiles lightly at Jayne and then leaves. Jayne starts packing his few belongings into a rucksack, taking only his best weapons. 

When Simon returns to the room, he finds Mal pacing frantically. 

"Well?" Mal asks. 

"He'll help." 

"All right, then. What's the plan?" 

They sit down on the bed and begin to work out the details. Part way through the planning, Mal contacts his ship, warning his pilot that they're going to need a fast get away. The way the pilot accepts these orders so easily tells Simon this isn't the first time Reynolds has given them. 

* * *

Simon can't believe how smoothly the plan is going. With Jayne leading the way and Reynolds carrying his sister's limp form, they make it quickly through the ship. They are just nearing the entry to the cargo bay when Thompson steps out in front of Jayne. 

"Where do you think you're going?" He says menacingly. The two men are almost the same size, and evenly matched in terms of brute strength. Jayne, however, is the faster of the two and punches Thompson in the face before he can reach for his weapon. 

"Go. I'll be right there," Jayne says, waving Simon and Mal towards the exit. Instead of just shooting Thompson and getting it over with, Jayne starts to pound the shit out of him with his fists. Thompson puts up a good fight, landing a few solid blows, but in the end, Jayne gets his head in a death grip and snaps Thompson's neck like a twig. "Fuckin' bastard." Jayne mutters as he lets go of the limp form. He looks up and sees Simon at the end of the hall, waiting for him. 

"Thought I told you to git?" Jayne says hurrying up the corridor. He pushes Simon gently and they quickly catch up to Mal. They open the airlock and make their way onto Reynold's ship, Serenity. 

* * *

Later that night, after all of the introductions were made and everyone was settled, Simon finds Mal in the galley. 

"I can't say how grateful I am, Captain," Simon says softly, eyes shining. 

"Mal, Simon. Call me Mal." 

All right, then, Mal," Simon says as he moves into Mal's personal space. He slides his lips up Mal's neck to his ear and whispers huskily, "You can do anything you want, _anything_." Mal's cock jumps to life at the soft words, and he hates the part of himself that wants to take advantage of the offer. Simon's next words, however, are like ice down his spine, cooling his ardour. 

"Tie me up, hurt me, share me, anything you want, just tell me, I'll do it." Simon's nimble fingers are opening the buttons on Mal's shirt. 

_Oh God,_ Mal thinks, _what did they do to this boy to make him like this?_

Mal places one of his hands gently on Simon's and tips his head up with the other. "Simon, you don't have to do this anymore. You're safe, your sister's safe. And I will do what I can to keep you that way. No strings attached." 

"Really?" Simon asks, not daring to believe. 

Mal runs his fingers lightly across Simon's face. "Really." He lowers his hand and steps back. 

"Thank you," Simon whispers and kisses Mal softly on the cheek before leaving the room. 

Mal sighs and puts his fingers to his cheek, hoping that someday Simon will make the offer to be his lover again, not out of fear, or out of gratitude, but out of genuine desire. 


End file.
